The most successful businesses are those with confidence in their ability to store, access and use data effectively. Rather than focusing on the nuts and bolts of storage, this view point looks at the data it holds and more importantly, what can be done with it.

This review looks at why small businesses need to stop being complacent about their networks and at what they can do to maintain their competitive edge as they follow the big boys down the route of increasing collaboration and other bandwidth-hungry applications likely to impact on network performance and availability.

Intel and Micron boast 25nm Nand breakthrough

New chips will double memory capacity

Chip giants Intel and Micron are to begin mass production of 25nm Nand memory
chips this summer. The new technology will halve the cost of building solid
state drives, and allow double the capacity with the same physical footprint.

The chips will be the smallest mass manufactured memory in the world,
according to the Intel Micron Flash Technologies (IMFT) joint venture, and will
be used in new generations of consumer electronic devices and mobile phones.

"To lead the entire semiconductor industry with the most advanced process
technology is a phenomenal feat for Intel and Micron, and we look forward to
further pushing the scaling limits," said Brian Shirley, vice president of
Micron's memory group.

IMFT was formed in 2006 and is 51 per cent controlled by Micron and 49 per
cent by Intel. The partnership is aimed at leading the burgeoning market for
Nand chips.

"Through our continued investment in IMFT, we are delivering leadership
technology and manufacturing that enables the most cost-effective and reliable
Nand memory," said Tom Rampone, vice president and general manager of Intel's
Nand Solutions Group.

"This will help speed the adoption of solid-state drive solutions for
computing."